New Mexico Governor signs new 22-year gaming compact with tribes

The compact was approved last month by the Legislature and with Martinez’s signature, all that remains is an approval from the U.S. Department of Interior before the compact takes into effect.

Martinez’s approval of the new gaming compact is a culmination of three years of negotiations between the state and Native American leaders. Should it get a thumbs up from the Department of Interior as many expect it will, a handful of provisions will be put in place as agreed upon by both parties.

Under the terms of the compact, Native American tribes will provide regular reports to the state about their gaming activities, allowing the state the opportunity to work with tribes in the event that problems arise affecting either side. State regulators will also have improved access to business information of the tribes to help ensure that the tribes are complying with the terms set forth in the new compact.

Native American tribes have agreed to increase the state’s cut in revenue sharing and to direct a percentage of gaming revenue to help address potential problem gambling issues. Finally, tribal casinos will now be part of a self-exclusion program, a new provision that previously was used only at private racetracks.

“In exchange for the significant benefits they receive in this compact, the tribes have agreed to increase the revenue sharing amounts they pay to the State,” reads a statement from Martinez’s office. “The compact also better addresses problem gambling issues by putting a percentage of gaming revenue toward treatment services, providing new transparency on how those funds are being used, and including tribal casinos, for the first time, in a state-wide self-exclusion program for problem gamblers that only private race tracks had participated in up until now.”

The five Native American tribes – the Pueblo of Acoma, the Pueblo of Jemez, the Jicarilla Apache Nation, the Mescalero Apache Tribe and the Navajo Nation – who were part of the negotiations have also signed the compact.

This comes as a relief to the tribes who already have casinos in the state. Had Martinez not signed, these casinos would have been forced to close when the current compact expires on June 30, 2015. But with this announcement, tribes that have signed the compact are free and clear to continue operations of their casinos provided they agree to the provisions in the agreement.

Other tribes with casinos in New Mexico are also expected to sign the new compact; something Gov. Martinez said would “preserves the stability and predictability of gaming in New Mexico.”